JP2004229605A - Automatic feeding device for laboratory animals - Google Patents

Abstract

In other words, a single feeding device is provided with an automatic feeding function capable of automatically, efficiently and extremely accurately feeding over a plurality of rows of breeding racks and a plurality of breeding cages. Provided is an automatic breeding device for laboratory animals that can be automatically cleaned.
A breeding cage is provided in a breeding rack shelf row in which a plurality of breeding cages are vertically arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of rows in a horizontal direction. Automatic feeding of feed to each row / row while moving, feeding detection consisting of a pole sensor, a feeder sensor, a remaining food sensor, and an obstacle sensor near the distribution port Provided is an automatic feeding device for experiments having a function of disposing the functional means on the suspension arm to reliably feed the individual feeders and brushing the ceiling of the breeding room in accordance with the movement of the horizontal traveling frame. I do.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to breeding management of experimental animals and the like represented by rabbits, guinea pigs, and the like, and particularly includes an automatic feeding function and a breeding environment beautification cleaning function used when a plurality of breeding cages are placed on a breeding rack shelf and bred. To an automatic feeding device for laboratory animals.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, laboratory animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs are often bred on rack shelves in which breeding cages are arranged in a plurality of rows vertically and in a plurality of rows horizontally. Then, a set amount of feed is fed to each individual breeding cage every day. However, to perform such feeding work manually, it takes time and effort to weigh the feed, which places a heavy burden on the operator. In addition, manual feeding operations tend to cause spillage of the feed, and waste of the feed and labor of cleaning the floor lead to a reduction in working efficiency and a deterioration in the breeding environment. Speaking of breeding environments, especially hard-to-reach ceilings are neglected to be cleaned. The complexity of these combined feeding operations has led to concerns that the observation of the key animals during the feeding operation may be neglected.
[0003]
Therefore, in order to automate the above feeding operation, various automatic feeding devices have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-31317 relates to a breeding apparatus for an experimental animal or the like having an automatic feeding function. This is a proposal of a breeding device with an automatic feeding function in which a breeding shelf and a feeding device are integrated, but it is difficult to increase the number of breeding rack shelves and increase or decrease the breeding cage. In particular, when different types of breeding rack shelves and breeding breeding cages are used, the automatic feeding device cannot cope with reliable feeding. In addition, it has not been solved as automatic feeding in a large breeding room where breeding rack shelves are arranged in a large number of rows.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventional breeding equipment with an automatic feeding function is generally one in which one set of breeding racks corresponds to one breeding rack shelf. When the number of breeding rack shelves is large, equipment costs and installation space are reduced. The size of the breeding room was naturally limited. The breeding room always strives to beautify the environment, but daily cleaning was important, but there was no ingenuity.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and solves the drawbacks caused by providing an automatic feeding device for each breeding rack shelf, and corresponds to breeding rack shelves and breeding cages of different manufacturers. Automatic feeding device capable of. In other words, a single feeding device is provided with an automatic feeding function that can feed automatically and efficiently and extremely accurately over a plurality of rows of breeding racks and a plurality of stages of breeding cages. Provided is an automatic feeding device for laboratory animals that can be cleaned.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to a rearing rack shelf row in which laboratory animal rearing cages can be arranged in a plurality of vertical stages and a plurality of horizontal rows.
(1) a horizontal running frame having a moving function means on the running rail, which is horizontally mounted on a row of breeding racks and intersects with a horizontal running rail erected in a longitudinal direction,
{Circle around (2)} a feed hopper with a suspension arm, mounted on a horizontal traveling frame, having a moving function means on the traveling frame, and provided with a distributor of a feeding amount adjusting function means for feed;
{Circle around (3)} a distribution pipe of feed fed by the distributor, and a suspension arm on which a feed detection function means including a pole detection sensor, a feeder detection sensor, a remaining food detection sensor, and an obstacle detection sensor is arranged;
{Circle over (4)} An automatic feeder for laboratory animals, comprising: a ceiling cleaning brush having a vertical movement function means mounted vertically above and parallel to the horizontal traveling frame.
[0007]
As a specific embodiment, first, the running rail in the present invention is a rail horizontally erected vertically on the breeding rack shelf, and is connected / straddled over a plurality of aligned breeding rack shelves. A rail that is erected. Therefore, the length and the number of traveling rails are arbitrarily increased or decreased according to the number of rearing rack shelves to be arranged. Both ends or one end of the running rail protrude from the breeding rack shelf, and a running rail is erected. The protruding portion of the rail is a standby position of a horizontal running frame described later and a standby position of a feed hopper.
[0008]
The horizontal traveling frame referred to in the present invention has a moving function means such as an axle and wheels on the lower surface, and is horizontally placed across a parallel traveling rail erected on a breeding rack shelf. A horizontal traveling frame that can travel back and forth on rails. Furthermore, as a preferred embodiment, the horizontal traveling frame is at the standby position of the traveling rail that protrudes from the breeding cage shelf when feeding is not operating, and moves to the standby position again after being moved horizontally around each breeding rack shelf row during operation. Is to return to.
[0009]
The feed hopper referred to in the present invention is a feed hopper that stocks feed to be fed, and includes a moving function means such as an axle and wheels that can move on the horizontal traveling frame and move left and right on the horizontal traveling frame. Have. At the bottom of the feed hopper, a distributor serving as a feed feeding amount adjusting means is connected and provided. Before the operation, the feed hopper waits at a standby position of the running rail that protrudes from the breeding cage shelf, and feed is loaded during the standby.
[0010]
Thereafter, in response to a signal from the sequencer, the feed amount adjusting function means operates, and the feed metered by the distributor is fed to the feeder through the distribution pipe.
[0011]
The feed amount adjusting function means in the present invention is connected to the lower part of the feed hopper where the feed is stocked, for example, while adjusting the feed amount for each breeding cage by a rotating function such as a screw rotor. , A distributor that feeds feed from the hopper. From the bottom of the feed hopper, a number of distribution pipes corresponding to the number and height of the rearing cage extend and are arranged on the suspension arm.
[0012]
The suspension arm referred to in the present invention refers to a suspension arm that is integral with the feed hopper and extends in a form of hanging vertically downward facing the breeding cage. The suspension arm is provided with a feed detecting function means described below, in addition to a feed pipe for feed fed by the feed amount adjusting function means.
[0013]
The feed detecting function means in the present invention is a part for controlling a means for surely automatically feeding a feeder with feed to each breeding cage. The feeding detection function means includes signal functions of four types of sensors.
[0014]
The first is to confirm that, with the movement of the horizontal traveling arm moving on the breeding rack shelf, the suspension arm integrated with the feed hopper placed on the traveling arm does not hit the column of the breeding rack shelf during traveling. A prop sensor that recognizes obstacles such as jumping out of breeding cages and outputs signals to avoid and move around.
[0015]
The second is a sensor to confirm the presence of a feeder in front of the breeding cage. When the breeding cage is present, it means that the animal is bred. A feeder sensor that determines the distance from the mouth to the feeder and outputs a signal to detect the presence of the feeder.
[0016]
The third is a feed sensor that feeds a set amount of feed to a feeder, but outputs a signal to stop feeding when the feeder has a certain amount of remaining feed.
[0017]
In No. 4, the breeding cage is placed in the breeding rack shelf, and if the feeder is attached to the front of the cage, the animal is usually bred. However, when the feeder is knocked down or removed for the sake of work, that is, when the presence of the feeder is uncertain, or when the breeding cage itself is inserted into the rack shelf shallowly, etc. And an obstacle sensing sensor that outputs a signal such as to stop the running of the automatic feeding device.
[0018]
The number of feed detecting function means corresponding to the number of stages and the height of the rearing cage is arranged on the suspension arm. In the automatic feeding apparatus according to the present invention, feeding to each feeder at each stage is reliably performed by a signal from a sequencer which receives signals from four types of sensors serving as a feed detecting function means. Of course, when an abnormality is detected from these sensors, the breeding manager is notified by an alarm signal.
[0019]
Further, the ceiling cleaning brush means in the present invention refers to a ceiling cleaning brush having a means that can be moved up and down by a column that is parallel to the horizontal traveling frame and vertically upward. That is, the ceiling cleaning brush travels with the movement of the horizontal traveling frame. The brush is in contact with a limit switch rail provided on the ceiling surface, so that the vertical movement of the column is adjusted, and the brush tip portion contacts the ceiling to brush the ceiling in the breeding room, thereby always maintaining a clean environment. You can do it.
[0020]
Regarding the operation of the automatic feeding device of the present invention, the operation start / stop switch, the emergency stop switch, the horizontal traveling frame operation switch, the feed distribution adjustment switch, the stop position detection sensor, the strut detection sensor, the feeder detection sensor, the remaining feed It has a sequencer control mechanism such as a sensing sensor, an obstacle sensing sensor, a 24-hour timer, a driving lamp, an abnormal lamp, an abnormal alarm, and various setting sensors, and inputs and sets all predetermined signals such as operation start time and speed. By doing so, control signals corresponding to these signals are output from the sequencer to each operation function, so that it is possible to select completely automatic operation.
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the automatic feeding device of the present invention in a state where a feed hopper is waiting at a portion where a running rail protrudes.
[0022]
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of animal breeding rack shelves formed in a generally used rectangular parallelepiped shape. One row of the breeding rack shelves is an example in which three breeding cages 2 are arranged in two rows in a back-to-back direction while being vertically partitioned into three vertical stages.
[0023]
The breeding cage 2 may also be a commonly used one, and its front surface is a lattice surface except for the peripheral edge. A part of the lattice surface is opened in the front lattice surface, and a feeder 3 having an upper surface opening that connects the inside and the outside of the breeding cage is attached to the opening part. The feeder 3 is configured to feed the feed from the outside of the upper opening, and the experimental animal feeds the feed from the inside. The present invention is a novel automatic feeding device for surely feeding a set amount of feed for each feeder 3 attached to the breeding cage 2 without fail.
[0024]
According to the present invention, in a rearing rack shelf row, a traveling rail 4 is horizontally installed on the rearing rack shelf 1 in a vertically long direction. The running rail 4 is connected and erected between a plurality of rearing rack shelves 1 arranged. Both ends or one end of the traveling rail 2 extends beyond the breeding rack shelf 1, and the extending portion of this rail is a standby position of the horizontal traveling frame, and is also a standby position of the feed hopper.
[0025]
Next, the horizontal traveling frame 5 is horizontally mounted on the traveling rails 4 so as to intersect the traveling rails 4. The horizontal traveling frame 5 has a moving function means such as an axle and wheels on the lower surface, and can move in the direction of arrow a in FIG.
[0026]
A feed hopper 6 is mounted on the horizontal traveling frame 5. A plurality of feed hoppers 6 are placed according to the number of rows of the rearing rack shelves 1. The feed hopper 6 has moving function means such as an axle and wheels for moving left and right on the horizontal traveling frame 5, and moves on the horizontal traveling frame 5 in the direction of arrow b in FIG. Can be moved to
[0027]
As shown in FIG. 2, the feed hopper 6 is a hopper for stocking feed. The feed hopper 6 has a distributor 7 connected to the bottom of the hopper and serving as a feed amount adjusting means, and a suspension arm 10 extending downward from the feed hopper 6 so as to face the rearing cage. Is configured. The distributor 7 feeds the feed from the hopper 6 while adjusting the feed amount of each breeding cage in accordance with data input in advance by a rotation function such as a screw rotor. From the distributor 7, distribution pipes 11 of a number corresponding to the number of stages and the height of the rearing cage 3 extend downward and are arranged on the suspension arm 10. Then, the feed distributed by the distributor 7 is supplied to the feeder 3 from the distribution port 12 through the distribution pipe 11.
[0028]
FIG. 3 shows the feeding detecting function means according to the present invention. This is a part for controlling means for ensuring that the feed for each breeding cage 2 is automatically fed to the feeder 3 automatically. The feeding detection function means includes signal functions of four types of sensors.
[0029]
The first is that the suspension arm 10 integrated with the feed hopper 6 mounted on the horizontal traveling arm 5 moves along with the movement of the horizontal traveling arm 5 moving on the rearing rack shelf 1 during traveling. A pillar detection sensor 15 for confirming that the pillar does not hit, and recognizing obstacles such as popping out of the breeding cage and outputting a signal for avoiding and moving;
No. 2 is a sensor for confirming the presence of the feeder 3 in front of the breeding cage 2, and the animal is bred when the breeding cage 2 is present. A feeder sensing sensor 16 that measures the presence of the feeder 3 and a distance from the feeder 12 to the feeder 3 and outputs a signal for bringing the feeder 12 closer to the feeder 3;
No. 3 usually feeds the feeder 3 with a set amount of feed, but when the feeder 3 has more than a certain amount of remaining feed, the distribution is stopped by the remaining amount of feed in the feeder 3. A remaining feed confirmation sensor 17 which can determine the distance from the sensor to the feed in the feeder 3;
In No. 4, the breeding cage 2 is placed in the breeding rack shelf 1, and if the feeder 3 is attached to the front of the cage, the animal is usually bred. However, when the feeder 3 is tilted or removed for the sake of work, that is, when the existence of the feeder 3 is uncertain, or when the breeding cage 2 is not easily fitted into the rack shelf, there is some sort of vicinity around the feeder 3 An obstacle detecting sensor 18 that outputs a signal to stop running of the automatic feeding device when an abnormality is detected.
[0030]
The feed detecting function means composed of these four types of sensors is arranged on the suspension arm 10 in a number corresponding to the number of stages of the breeding cage 3, and the feeder is operated by a signal from the sequencer which receives signals from the four types of sensors. Feeding for every three can be performed accurately and reliably. Of course, when an abnormality is detected from these sensors, the breeding manager is notified by an alarm signal.
[0031]
FIG. 4 shows ceiling cleaning brush means according to the present invention. The ceiling cleaning brush means a ceiling cleaning brush 20 with a column 21 having a vertically movable brush that is configured to move vertically upward in parallel with the horizontal traveling frame 5. That is, this operation is a mechanism in which the ceiling cleaning brush 20 travels along with the traveling of the horizontal traveling frame 5. The ceiling cleaning brush 20 is adjusted by a driving motor 23 by the vertical movement of the column 21 by the contact between the limit sensor 22 and the limit switch rail provided on the ceiling surface. The ceiling cleaning brush 20 moves up and down in the direction of arrow c in FIG. 4 to contact the ceiling and brush the ceiling in the breeding room to maintain a clean environment at all times.
[0032]
As described above, the operation of the automatic feeding device of the present invention is such that the horizontal traveling frame 5 stands by at the standby position of the traveling rail 4 protruding from the breeding rack shelf 1 when not operating. Therefore, the feed hopper 6 placed on the horizontal traveling frame 5 also waits at this standby position. The feed is loaded on the feed hopper 6 during this standby.
[0033]
Next, the horizontal running frame 5 on which the feed hopper 6 loaded with the required amount of feed is loaded, the running motor is rotated by a control signal from a sequencer set in advance, and runs on the running rail 4 of the breeding rack shelf 1. It travels, moves to a predetermined position, and stops. The predetermined stop position is controlled not only by a control signal from the sequencer but also by a detection signal from each row stop position detection sensor installed on the traveling rail 4 to control the repetition of traveling and stopping.
[0034]
Along with the traveling horizontal traveling frame 5, a feed hopper 6 mounted on the horizontal traveling frame 5 and a suspension arm 10 integrally formed with the feed hopper 6 go around the surface of the feeder 3 of the breeding rack shelf 1. Move. Then, when the horizontal traveling frame 5 travels and stops, the suspension arm 10 stops at the center position of the feeder 3.
[0035]
When the suspension arm 10 moves, if there is an obstacle, the movement function means of the feed hopper 6 is activated by a signal from the column sensing sensor 15 of the feed detection function means disposed on the suspension arm 10. The feed hopper 6 is moved in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 1 to thereby change the trajectory of the suspension arm 10, thereby avoiding contact with an obstacle.
[0036]
The suspension arm 10 stopped in front of the feeder 3 is used to check the exact positional relationship between the feeder 3 and the distribution port 12 and the necessity of feeding the feed by four kinds of sensors of the feed detecting function means. Then, signals from the feed detecting sensor 16, the remaining animal detecting sensor 17, and the obstacle detecting sensor 18 are guided to the feeder 3 around the distribution port 12. That is, with the movement of the horizontal traveling frame 5 in the direction of the arrow a in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and the movement of the feed hopper 6 in the direction of the arrow b in FIG. A specified amount of feed is fed to the designated feeder 3 without spilling and making mistakes.
[0037]
As for the feed amount, by inputting the feed amount corresponding to the animal in each individual breeding cage 2 in advance, the operation signal from the sequencer is sent to the feed motor of the distributor 7, and the motor rotates to rotate the feed motor. The feed amount is adjusted, and the feed is fed from the feed port 12 through the feed pipe 11. After these feeding operations are completed, the horizontal traveling frame 5 together with the feed hopper 6 returns to the standby position outside the row of the breeding rack shelf 1 again and stands by by a signal from the sequencer.
[0038]
On the other hand, as the horizontal traveling frame 5 travels, the ceiling cleaning brush configured vertically above and parallel to the horizontal traveling frame 5 brushes the ceiling inside the breeding room to keep the automatic feeding breeding device always clean. I can do it.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention, as described above, the horizontal traveling frame travels on a traveling rail erected on a breeding rack shelf of a breeding cage arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction and a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction, and On the horizontal traveling frame, the feed hopper with the suspension arm moves to feed through the feeder provided on the suspension arm around the feeders of each row and each row of the breeding rack shelf belonging to the row. With the signal from the feeding detection function means disposed near the feeding port, the obstacle of the suspension arm is recognized and avoided, and the feeders in a large number of breeding cages are recognized. Since a control device for controlling the operation of the feed hopper with the suspension arm is provided to ensure that the set amount of feed is automatically fed automatically, feeding can be automatically and efficiently performed.
[0040]
In addition, the automatic feeding device of the present invention can support a combination of different types of breeding rack shelves and breeding cages, and in a large breeding room simply by connecting and erection of a plurality of breeding rack shelves with horizontal traveling rails. It is also possible to manage the automatic feeding without any special equipment change or modification. Therefore, a large number of experimental animals can be bred and managed without a large increase in equipment costs and the like. Further, a practical automatic breeding apparatus can be provided which is rationalized and can always keep the breeding room clean by the ceiling cleaning brush means provided on the horizontal traveling frame.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an automatic feeding device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a feed hopper with a suspension arm mounted on a running rail and mounted on a horizontal running frame, and a ceiling cleaning brush.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a feed detection sensor provided on a suspension arm. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a ceiling cleaning brush.
1 ... rearing rack shelf 2 ... rearing cage 3 ... feeder 4 ... running rail 5 ... horizontal running frame 6 ... feed hopper 7 ... distribution Dispenser 10 Suspension arm 11 Distribution pipe 12 Distribution port 15 Prop detection sensor 16 Feeder detection sensor 17 Litter detection sensor 18・ ・ ・ Obstacle detection sensor 20 ・ ・ ・ Ceiling cleaning brush 21 ・ ・ ・ Column 22 ・ ・ ・ Reset sensor 23 ・ ・ ・ Drive motor

Claims (1)

In the breeding rack shelf row where the breeding cages of the experimental animals are vertically arranged in multiple stages and horizontally in multiple rows,
(1) a horizontal traveling frame mounted on a traveling rail erected in a longitudinal direction on a breeding rack shelf and having a moving function means on the traveling rail;
(2) a feed hopper with a suspension arm on which the distributing device having a function for moving left and right on the horizontal traveling frame and having a function for adjusting the feed amount of the feed is provided;
(3) A distribution pipe for feed fed by the distributor, and a suspension arm provided with a feed detection function means including a pole detection sensor, a feeder detection sensor, a remaining food detection sensor, and an obstacle detection sensor. ,
{Circle over (4)} An automatic feeding device for laboratory animals, comprising a ceiling cleaning brush having a vertical moving function means mounted vertically above and parallel to the horizontal traveling frame.

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